By Joseph Sykes | Sports Editor
In its last home game of the season, the Duquesne women’s basketball team snagged a 74-49 win over La Salle Wednesday night. The Senior Night victory puts the Red & Blue at 13-3 in the Atlantic 10 and 25-3 overall.
Heading into the matchup, the Explorers sat at the bottom of the A-10 standings at 2-12. However, they didn’t play like it. La Salle kept a lead through the first five minutes of play thanks to strong perimeter defense as well as creating solid shot attempts.
After taking a few minutes to settle in, the Dukes responded well thanks to some help from the upperclassmen. Senior guard April Robinson and junior forward Amadea Szamosi nailed two 3-pointers apiece. Robinson and her fellow senior, Deva’Nyar Workman, both knotted six points in the first half while Szamosi tallied 11. After time ran out in the first half, the Red & Blue found themselves up 32-21.
The early portion of the second half saw the Dukes keep their consistent level of play alive while leading the Explorers by a 16-point margin at the end of the third quarter. The Dukes had freshman Kadri-Ann Lass to thank for their early-second half onslaught after the Estonian tallied 10 points in ten minutes.
Head coach Dan Burt made the decision to keep the three seniors (Robinson, Workman and Emilie Gronas) out on the court for the final quarter in order to honor them in their final regular season game on the Bluff.
After the final buzzer, Lass held on to be the Dukes’ leading scorer, racking in 18 points. Robinson finished second with 16.
If the Dukes are able to top St. Bonaventure this Sunday in Olean, N.Y., then they will automatically hold the top seed in next week’s conference tournament, thus earning them a bye in the first round. The first few games of the conference bracket will tip off next Wednesday in Richmond, Va.
